WSHPDR_2013_Final_Report-updated_version

een lowered in this region. One of the most
important reasons appears to be a lack of the suitable
incentives, for example concessions laws in most cases
give exclusivity to large utilities, and subsidies to rural
electrification exclude small independent generators.
Financial institutions like the World Bank, Inter-
American Development Bank and others have been
keen to provide financial assistance to the
implementation of rural electrification projects
including small hydropower systems mostly through
governments; the private sector has not been a driver
of the implementation of rural electrification hence, it
has rarely financed private small hydro initiatives.
The total installed capacity of small hydropower is
approximately 5,000 MW, defined as up to 10 MW.
The potential is difficult to approximate because most
reported small hydropower in the region uses a higher
definition (table 3). 8
The technically developable hydropower capacity for
South America is estimated at 350 GW, 35.7 per cent
of which has been developed. Presently, all countries
have plans for large hydropower installations linked to
national grids and regional integration. 8
Table 3
Small hydropower in Southern America, up to 10 MW
capacity
(Megawatts)
Country Potential Installed capacity
Argentina 430 66.0
Plurinational State of Bolivia at least 21 21.3
Brazil a at least 1 023 1 023.0
Chile 7 000 116.7
Colombia at least 172 171.5
Ecuador 383 76.5
French Guiana at least 6 5.5
Peru at least 254 254.3
Uruguay 101 0.0
Total 9 390 1 734.8
Sources: See country reports
Notes: a. The potential of Brazil for plants up to 10 MW is not
known, the gross technical potential up to 30 MW is 22,500 MW.
Countries with a larger share of rural population
without access to electricity, coincidently, have greater
small hydro resources, especially those in the Andes
region: Peru, Bolivia, Colombia and Ecuador; at the
same time these countries have a large number of
small towns and villages located in isolated areas in
the Andes and far from the grid. Besides supporting
rural electrification, small hydropower can also play an
important role in contributing to the national grids by
supplying additional power.
Notes
i. South America comprises Argentina, Plurinational
State of Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador,
Falkland Islands (Malvinas), French Guiana, Guyana,
Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, Uruguay, Bolivarian
Republic of Venezuela.
ii. There are no country reports available for Guyana
and Venezuela due to insufficient information. Guyana
has had two feasibility studies done for small
hydropower plants (3 MW and 4 MW) and Venezuela
may have potential but information on operating small
or micro hydropower plants was not available.
References
1. Central Intelligence Agency (2012). The World
Factbook. Available from
www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook.
2. International Energy Agency (2011). World Energy
Outlook 2011, 9 November 2011. Paris.
3. World Bank (2011). World Development Indicators
Database. Available from
http://siteresources.worldbank.org/DATASTATISTICS/R
esources/POP.pdf. Accessed May 2012.
4. Alvarez, Pablo (2011). National Directorate for
Promotion of Renewable Energies and Energy
Efficiency of the National Secretariat of Energy of
Argentina. Survey by International Center on Small
Hydro Power answered in September.
5. International Journal on Hydropower and Dams
(2011). World Atlas and Industry Guide 2011. Surrey:
Aqua-Media International.
6. Tiago Filho, Geraldo Lucio (2011). Centro Nacional
de Referencia em Pequenas Centrais Hidreletricas.
Brazil. Survey by International Center on Small Hydro
Power answered in October.
7. Électricité de France and Direction des Systemes
nergetiques Insulaires (2012). Bilan Previsionnel de
l’Equilibre Offre/Demande d’Elétricité. Guyane. Paris.
Available from
http://guyane.edf.com/fichiers/fckeditor/Commun/SEI
/corp/Bilan-previsionnel-2012-Guyane.pdf.
8. Comité Nacional de Despacho de Carga (2011).
Resultados de operación del sistema interconectado
nacional. Memoria 2011. Cochabamba. Available from
www.cndc.bo/media/archivos/boletines/memyres_20
11.pdf.
9. Organización Latinoamericana de Energía (2012).
2012 Energy Statistics Report. Quito.
The main challenges facing small hydropower is the
lack of appropriate regulations related to tariffs,
subsidies and concessions which presently do not help
or encourage its development.
179